Britain should seek to rejoin the European Union as a full member, making renewed membership a medium-term policy objective, according to a report published on Monday by the London-based Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).
The progressive think tank argues that a decade of global changes since the 2016 Brexit referendum has made it increasingly difficult for the United Kingdom to protect its prosperity, security and democratic institutions outside the bloc.
A representative poll conducted jointly by the IPPR and research company Persuasion UK found that 52 per cent of 3,039 British voters would support rejoining the EU, while 29 per cent would oppose it.
Support was highest among Liberal Democrat voters, at 75 per cent, followed by supporters of the governing Labour Party and the Green Party, at 70 per cent each. Conservative voters were the only major party group in which opponents of renewed EU membership outnumbered supporters: 52 per cent opposed rejoining, while 38 per cent backed it.
In its 48-page report, the IPPR argues that Britain’s current approach to foreign economic relations, which involves pursuing trade opportunities with markets comparable in size to its own economy, is insufficient in an increasingly unpredictable global environment shaped by major powers, particularly the United States and China.
The strategy may be enough to maintain the country’s existing position, the think tank argues, but is unlikely to deliver substantial growth. It also warns that Britain risks losing investment appeal and influence over its supply chains.
The report highlights weak business investment as a longstanding problem for the UK economy, arguing that the situation has deteriorated since Brexit. According to modelling cited by the IPPR, private-sector investment in Britain is now 12 to 18 per cent lower than in comparable economies.
The think tank also questions whether free-trade agreements with distant partners can provide sufficient economic security in a world increasingly organized around major trading blocs.
To illustrate the difference in economic scale, the report estimates that Britain’s gross domestic product amounted to $4.49 trillion last year, measured at purchasing power parity and converted at current exchange rates, compared with $29.55 trillion for the EU as a whole.
The IPPR also argues that concerns about renewed freedom of movement from Central and Eastern Europe have become less relevant over time.
When eight Central and Eastern European countries, including Hungary, joined the EU in 2004, their combined GDP was approximately $600 billion. By 2025, it had increased to $2.1 trillion, more than tripling, while Britain’s economy had grown to less than twice its previous size over the same period, according to the report.
The think tank says the economic convergence has reduced the incentive for workers from Central and Eastern European EU member states to move to Britain.
‘Benefits promised by supporters of Brexit had not materialized’
The report is the second major policy study in a short period to advocate renewed British EU membership. A recent analysis by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, founded by the former Labour prime minister, argued that the UK should rejoin the bloc within the next decade.
That report said most Britons had come to recognize that the benefits promised by supporters of Brexit had not materialized. It also argued that the outcome of the 2016 referendum might have been different if voters had possessed today’s knowledge of the consequences of leaving the EU.
In the referendum, 51.89 per cent of voters backed leaving the bloc, narrowly defeating the campaign to remain.
Related articles:
The post Majority of Britons Support Rejoining EU, Poll Finds appeared first on Hungarian Conservative.